Dutcher acquires Gillespie Funeral Home

Wednesday

Jul 2, 2014 at 9:45 AMJul 2, 2014 at 9:46 AM

By Jamie BarrandTwitter: @editorbarrand

COLDWATER — With its recent purchase of Gillespie Funeral Home, Dutcher Funeral Home is now the only family-owned funeral home in Coldwater.Dutcher owners Kathy (Dutcher) and Mark Barone and Gillespie owners Keith and Tamra Bildner closed the sale in June. Gillespie has closed its doors and now both funeral homes operate under the Dutcher name at the 440 W. Chicago St. facility.Several elements came together to facilitate the sale.“I was kind of looking at retiring or semi-retiring,” Keith Bildner said.The Bildners operated Gillespie Funeral Home for 31 years. Keith’s career began in Hillsdale when his uncle, Howard Thompson, offered him a part-time job at his mortuary while Keith was attending college.“My uncle got me going,” Keith said.Keith enjoyed the summer job so much that he changed his college major from pre-pharmacy to mortuary science. He and Tamra married and took ownership of Gillespie Funeral Home in 1983.For the Barones, the purchase of Gillespie Funeral Home was about moving their business forward.“There just comes a point in your life and business where you need to continue to grow,” said Kathy.Mark agreed, adding that purchasing a business with a solid reputation made the deal that much more attractive.“Keith has already built his business up, so it’s been easy to add it to our existing business,” he said.Dutcher was started in 1972 by Steve Dutcher when he purchased the Baggerly Funeral Home. In 1978 he opened Dutcher’s in its current location.In 2004 Mark and Kathy purchased the family business; in 2009 they acquired the Kolcz Funeral Home in Bronson, which continues to operate as Dutcher-Kolcz Funeral Home.As they thought about selling their business, the Bildners agreed that they would only do so under certain conditions.“It was important to us that if we were going to relinquish our business that we sell to another family — not a corporation,” Tamra said.The Barones said they are pleased that Keith agreed to stay on with them as a part-time employee.“It’s huge to have that,” Kathy said. “People know who Keith is; they know Gillespie Funeral Home — and there were reasons people wanted to work with them. They have built a great reputation.”Kathy said those who have done prearrangements through Gillespie Funeral Home need not be concerned, as all that information has been given to the Dutcher staff.“All families with a pre-need funeral contract with Gillespie Funeral Home will be receiving a letter to acknowledge their contract being honored by Dutcher Funeral Home,” Kathy said.As he looks forward to having more free time, Keith isn’t exactly sure what his plans are.“Not being on call or having to have a phone with me every second is really strange,” he said.Kathy nodded knowingly, pointing out that owning a funeral home is “not a 9-5 job — it’s very much a lifestyle.”Keith is enthusiastic about getting to spend more time with his family and doing some work on the farm he and Tamra purchased seven years ago that has been in Keith’s family for 105 years.The Barones are optimistic as this new chapter in Dutcher Funeral Home’s history begins.“This coming together to serve the needs of the community … it’s a benefit for all of us,” Kathy said. “We will figure things out as we grow and we’ll continue to offer the same quality services both Dutcher and Gillespie have offered for generations.”Mark concurred.“We are just so honored to have this opportunity,” he said.For Keith and Tamra, this new phase in their lives is bittersweet.“We really want to thank the community for the last 31 years,” Keith said. “We still live in this community … we’ll still be around.”The Barones encourage anyone with questions about the acquisition to contact them by phone at 278-4031 or email contactus@dutcherfh.com.